National capital’s upscale Khan Market has slipped two position to world’s 28th most expensive retail location, even as it continues to be the costliest place to hire a shop in the country, says Cushman & Wakefield.

Khan Market continues to be the most expensive retail location with rentals of Rs 1,250 per sq ft per year

Monthly rentals at Khan market stood at Rs 1,250 per sq ft annually.

“New Delhi’s Khan Market has moved down 2 spots on its global retail ranking to become the world’s 28th most expensive retail location globally,” real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield said in a statement.

“Back home in India, Khan Market continues to be the most expensive retail location with rentals of Rs 1,250 per sq ft per year,” it added.

Paris’ Avenue des Champs Elysees, London’s New Bond Street and Tokyo’s Ginza were at third, fourth and fifth positions, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s annual report ‘Main Streets Across the world that tracks 462 of the top retail locations around the globe, ranking them by their prime rental value.

“Despite witnessing stable rental values, Khan Market’s position slipped two places, due to marginal increases in rentals of other countries,” the consultant said.

The micro market has been the most expensive market in India for more than five years as demand for retail space has remained steady on account of its location and current occupier profile.

The area, which is centrally located within the city of New Delhi, is flanked on all sides by high-end residential catchment areas.

Within Asia Pacific too, Khan Market slipped down by a rank to be the 15th most expensive location, as Vietnam s Ho Chi Minh City overtook Khan Market s rentals this year.

In India, the three most expensive retail micro-markets are located in Delhi-NCR. Khan Market and Connaught Place in New Delhi demand the highest rentals of Rs 1,250 a sq ft per year and Rs 850 per sq ft a year, respectively. These are followed by DLF Galleria in Gurugram, which emerged as the 3rd most expensive location.

C&W MD India Anshul Jain said: “India’s retail real estate is going through rapid changes with consumer behaviour evolving faster than the sector can adapt to. The game changing phenomenon has been the rapid forward movement by e-commerce, which is challenging the existing brick and mortar format.”

“Having said that, main streets have not seen a significant erosion in attractiveness. These continue to see interest from retailers, albeit most locations have no vacancy, which keeps the rentals status of these locations stable,” he added.

Jain said however that very few new locations have been added to the retail geography of India in the last few years, owing to the cautious outlook by retailers.